Alison Margaret Carolyn Cann studied at Wimbledon School of Art from 1955-59 and at the Royal Academy Schools from 1959-62 where she was a Silver Medallist and met and later married her fellow student, John Sergeant. She has had one-man shows in London at the Waterhouse Gallery in 1969 and 1971 and the Waterman Gallery in 1994 before her first exhibition at Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox in May 1997, with further shows at the gallery in May 1999 and May 2001. In 1992 she held a one-man show at the Brian Sinfield Gallery in Burford and her pictures have been included in mixed exhibitions at the Leicester Galleries, Roland, Browse and Delbanco and in numerous galleries in the provinces. In 2003 she had a solo exhibition at the Fine Art Society and in 2008 with Sir Jack Baer in association with Katrin Bellinger at Colnaghi, London. Closer to home in Mid Wales Carolyn would occasionally exhibit at the Silk Top Hat Gallery in Ludlow.
In 1983 John and Carolyn bought an old run down farm house near Builth Wells in Powys, Mid Wales, the house needed such extensive renovation that it took many years to complete. Their two sons Ben (b.1971) and Edward (b.1975) spent their formative years in the area and were educated at school in Builth Wells. John was the driving force behind many important decisions that were to form both their careers. It had been agreed that while John would continue to pursue his own career Carolyn would split her duties with looking after the house and their two sons, meanwhile she would continue to paint at every opportunity. When the house was completed and the boys had left home John and Carolyn continued to be successful in their careers, exhibiting in many of the leading galleries in London. Sadly John died on the 7 January 2010 and Carolyn passed away after a long illness on the 25th January 2018. The legacy of her work remains and will continue to be appreciated.
